[Superfly_FR]

Ok guys, this one could sit my theory (MSFT/BB partnerisip) away from fantasy ...
Please note the actors; NOK - recent MS acquisition - and SIEMENS (where did I hear that ... oh ... "HEINS, zwei, drei" !)

The joint venture [NOK/SIEMENS] has been the lone bright spot for the handset maker over the past year as its smartphone sales plummeted amid a tough transition to Windows Phone. Due to the ongoing restructuring process as well as the transition to 4G LTE taking place in many parts of the world, the venture not only returned to operating profitability last quarter but also generated cash for four quarters in a row. At a time when Nokia is conserving cash by suspending dividend payouts and leasing its headquarters instead of owning it, NSN is proving highly valuable with its steady cash flows despite not being a core asset. Last quarter, the company managed to strengthen its cash position by 800 million Euros, more than 80% of which came from NSN.

Nokia Siemens JV Has Been Huge For Nokia But Now Brings Uncertainty - Forbes

And how MSFT usually extend their profitable activities ? (just guessing)
I believe we have a potential bidder-partner for the NOC here ...

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near."
Sun Tzu, the art of the war.

P.S : As it seems my thinking is not clear, I repeat that I don't believe we're in a buyout situation here, but a partnership that could take many, many forms.

[Bugmapper]

Don't know much about the infrastructure or technology but, my question would be, is there a lot of overlap that would make one group essentially obsolete to the other? Or would it be more synergistic?

Otherwise, sounds good to me.

[Superfly_FR]

Don't know much about the infrastructure or technology but, my question would be, is there a lot of overlap that would make one group essentially obsolete to the other? Or would it be more synergistic?

Synergistic would be my natural answer.
Maybe some network expert around could dig about those two infrastructures size and locations (I believe it's a big key) ?
So far I know BB NOC has unmatched entry points with carriers all aroud the globe (is that 600+ ?). With MSFT going "low cost devices", one can ask "where is the market" ? Once you have the answer, then you can answer this "is BB network (read: compression/BBM = low cost data plans) available there ? ".
On my very own, I tend to believe the answer is yes.

Edit : furthermore, this will support the BBM on WP option I gimmick for months ...

[La Emperor]

Hey SuperFly,

If Amazon's plan pushes thru, of becoming an MVNO and giving away phones for free this would throw the smartphone industry into a bit of chaos. Someone's going to get hurt in the consumer side. Remember, Amazon have all the muscle and $$ to make this happen. They could easily scale this worldwide. See the link below for reports on their plans.

Links 07 Sept. Amazon To Try Free Smartphone, Possibly With Own Airtime - Forbes

Perhaps the scaling down of BB10 phone production is not bad after all and BB can focus on working with the enterprise side of things for now.

So where does the NOC play here. Well, with BB's 650+ worldwide carrier presence, Amazon's competition can jump the gun and buy out or partner with BB to get to use NOC. MS, EBAY, FB or even Google are some of those who maybe interested.

Or BB can just approach Walmart and say, hey we can build you 5 milllion Walmart branded phones under the most secure BB10 platform, and you can give it away for free as you chose. In return for paying for the phone, it's your brand, and your customer is locked into your web portal and services of your choice. We can manage the phones and services for you including the carrier side of things, while we split the revenue for ads, etc. etc.. You can match Amazon in their game without you building a full scale network operation.

Then BB can approach Ebay, FB, Costco, etc. and do it all over again.

Or perhaps BB was already approached by Amazon for their free phones. BB can certainly develop a forked Andriod. Who knows? It's fun to speculate. It's free.

This is what happens when you have beer a little too early...

[Superfly_FR]

Hey LA Emperor!
That's a bunch of options you describe here
I'm not sure anyone not yet in the mobile (related) market would have the balls to dig in a market with such domination. I'm afraid that, while receivable - this ruins any options you mentioned. But once again, nothing else that my feelings here...

Datz From my Z10 amigo.

[Superfly_FR]

update : QNX Software Systems to demonstrate HERE Auto embedded navigation at CES | CrackBerry.com
oh-oh ... could it be ...

Nahhh, probably dreamin' again

[m1a1mg]

update : QNX Software Systems to demonstrate HERE Auto embedded navigation at CES | CrackBerry.com
oh-oh ... could it be ...

Nahhh, probably dreamin' again

Maybe. But now that Nokia is attached to M$, and M$ has their own (crappy) in car system, will it happen?